donate

Sunday, April 14, 2013

HOME VAN NEWSLETTER 4/14/13

BUG SPRAY AND WATER

UF entymologists are predicting an unusually bad mosquito season this year,
due to rainfall patterns. These bringers of cheer also say that we are going to
be invaded by a sort of mega-mosquito, 20 times the size of an ordinary
mosquito, that bites through clothing. That sounds more like a toy helicopter
than a bug, but I did read this in the Gainesville Sun. The woods have already
been invaded by mosquitos – but not the helisquitoes yet. So, we are going to
need bug spray donations more than ever. It is pure torture being out in the
woods with no way to keep mosquitoes off. I advise people to spray their
clothing rather than themselves, especially around cuffs and collars. That way
they are not saturating their bodies with Deet, and the effect lasts longer.
Still, it is going to take a lot of bug spray to get through the next few
months. I also need to start stockpiling water, so those donations are
important also.

SPECIAL PROJECTS...

Every once in awhile we get a chance to actually pull someone out of the
fire, as we did recently with “K”, a young man who aged out of foster care in
Gainesville a year or two ago. (In order to protect K’s identity, this account
is fictionalized, while being essentially true.) K spent some time with his
parents over the years, but mainly lived in foster homes, some good and some
abusive. He aged out of foster care successfully, and got himself a job and a
place to live. He even saved up a few hundred dollars. About this time his
parents came to town with big news. They told K they had an apartment and good
jobs waiting for them in a faraway place. They asked K to quit his job and go
with them so they could all be a real family. First they needed a hotel room
for a few days, to rest, and then two more Grayhound tickets. They convinced K
to quit his job and give them the money in his savings account, to help them put
this grand plan into action. A week or so later K called me from a motel out
by the interstate. He and his parents were about to be evicted from the motel
and none of them had eaten in four days. He told me, with his voice trembling,
that his mother was so sick he feared for her.

We went out to the motel with food. His mother, who seemed to have
recovered, was all sweetness and smiles. She told me about the apartment and
jobs in ‘Timbuktu’ and asked if we could help them get there. The rest of the
story, the unedited version, emerged over the next two days. In short, once K
turned over his money and the family got a motel room, his parents invited
friends over and went on three-day binge. All of K’s money was gone.

The price of two Grayhound tickets was way more than we could afford, but
the Home Van angel, the one who whispers in my ear, told me to get one ticket,
which was still more than we could afford, but I’ve learned over the years to
obey this little voice when it talks to me. K’s mother eagerly volunteered K to
stay behind while she and her husband took the bus. “He’s young, he’ll make it,
and we’ll send for him when we get paid.” K agreed. In reality, K, as he told
me later, was terrified at the notion of living on the streets. Although his
life had been hard, he’d always had a roof over his head.

When I heard the whole story I realized that we really needed to get these
so-called parents out of town, way out of town. Like Charlie Brown with the
football, an abandoned child is vulnerable past all the reason to the idea that
his parents have changed, now they love him, now he’s going to have a real
family.

K did have friends in a small religious commune in Gainesville. After we
put his parents on the Grayhound, we took him there. He was greeted with hugs
and immediately given a bed. A week later K had found another job. K feels
that the severity of this experience has finally inoculated him from the siren
call of his parents, particularly his mother. He understands now that the
people who love him are his real family. He is doing well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOME VAN PET CARE!

Home Van Pet Care is turning 6 years old this month! I can’t say enough
to thank Elizabeth Howard and her volunteers for all they have done for the
animals these past years – all the hours of bagging food and bringing it to the
woods and capturing cats and dogs and taking them in for spaying and neutering
and health care. Elizabeth also reached out to other people and groups
concerned with animal welfare and lit a lot of fires. Happy, Happy Birthday to
Home Van Pet Care and all their furry friends.

The Home Van needs tents,
tarps, bottled water, bug spray,Vienna sausages, creamy peanut butter, jelly,
candles, white tube socks, batteries, and games. Call 352-372-4825 to arrange for drop off.
Financial donations to the Home Van should be in the form of checks made out to
Citizens for Social Justice, Inc., earmarked for the Home Van, and mailed to 307
SE 6th Street, Gainesville, FL 32601, or can be made online at
http://homevan.blogspot.com/

THE HOMEVAN IS A PROJECT OF CITIZENS FOR SOCIAL
JUSTICE, INC. (FDACSREGISTRATION #CH35643). A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION
AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES
BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE.REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY
ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE
STATE.

About Me

I'm a 13th-generation Vermonter who grew up in North Bennington. Now I live in Florida, where I coordinate an outreach mission, part of Citizens for Social Justice, which delivers food, clothing, friendship, and other necessities of life to homeless people in Gainesville. I write an email newsletter, with stories about our homeles friends. To read highlights from the Home Van Journal, visit my other blog, http://homevan.blogspot.com/